Mobile communication terminal and method thereof

ABSTRACT

A method for providing a user interface of a communication apparatus comprises switching from a low power mode to a working mode upon receiving a stream of audio data; and upon switching from the low power mode to the working mode: extracting at least one audio feature from said stream of audio data, and modifying the appearance of at least one user interface component configured for invoking a function of the communication apparatus, in accordance with said extracted audio feature.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/548,443, filed on 11 Oct. 2006, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to a method for providing auser interface modified in accordance to audio data, as well as a moduleand an apparatus thereof.

BACKGROUND

Many mobile communication terminals of today includes a music player,most often a so-called MP3 player and/or radio receiver. A greatadvantage of having a music player included is that, instead of twoseparate units, only one single unit is needed for users asking for amobile communication terminal as well as a music player.

By including a music player in a mobile communication terminal, some ofthe hardware of the mobile communication terminal may be used by themusic player as well. For instance, the display may be used by the musicplayer in order to show the title of the song being played, the keyboard may be used in order to control the music player, etc.

Although a number of hardware synergies may be achieved by running amusic player on the same platform as a mobile communication terminal,there is a need to more closely connect the music player to the mobilecommunication terminal in order to increase the customer satisfaction.

SUMMARY

In view of the above, the disclosed embodiments aim to solve or at leastreduce the problems discussed above. In more particular, an advantage ofthe disclosed embodiments is to provide a user interface which ismodified in accordance to audio data.

Generally, the a method for providing a user interface modified inaccordance to extracted audio features, and an associated module andapparatus according to the attached independent claims is provided.

In a first aspect, the disclosed embodiments are directed to a methodfor providing a user interface of an apparatus, said user interfacecomprising a number of user interface components, said method comprising

receiving audio data, extracting at least one audio feature from saidaudio data, and modifying the appearance of at least one of said numberof user interface components in accordance to said extracted audiofeature.

An advantage of this is that the user interface of the apparatus is mademore alive, which will increase the user satisfaction.

Another advantage is that the user interface may be used at the sametime as music visualization effects are shown. This implies that theapparatus may be utilised as usually, although music visualizationeffects is being shown on the display.

Still another advantage is that the user interface of the apparatus willvary in accordance to the audio data generated by the music player. Thisimplies that the music player and the other functions of the apparatusare perceived by the user as one apparatus, not as an apparatus whichcan, for instance, be transformed from a communication apparatus into amusic player apparatus.

In the method according to the first aspect, the reception, theextraction and the modification may be repeated.

Further, in the method according to the first aspect, the user interfacecomponents may be 3-D rendered graphical objects.

An advantage of having 3-D rendered graphical objects is that a moresophisticated user interface may be utilised.

In the method according to the first aspect, the 3-D rendered graphicalobjects may be hardware accelerated.

An advantage of this is that the responsivity of the 3-D graphicalobjects of the user interface may be increased, which means that theuser interface is quicker.

In the method according to the first aspect, the audio visualizationeffects may be superposed upon the 3-D rendered graphical objects.

In the method according to the first aspect, the modification maycomprise classifying said extracted audio feature into one of aplurality of predetermined feature representations, and modifying theappearance of at least one of said number of user interface componentsin accordance to said one predetermined feature representation.

By having a number of predetermined feature representations determinedin advance, the extracted audio feature may be classified into one ofthese predetermined representations. This implies that theclassification may be made quicker and less computational power isneeded. This is an advantage.

In the method according to the first aspect, the modification of saiduser interface components may be made in accordance to one of a set ofuser interface (UI) modification themes.

A UI modification theme may comprise information of how the extractedaudio feature(s) is to be presented in the UI. For instance, theextracted audio feature(s) may be presented as a histogram superposed ona 3-D rendered UI component, or the extracted audio feature(s) may bepresented as a number of circles superposed on a 3-D rendered UIcomponent.

An advantage of this is that the way in which the modification of theuser interface components is made may easily be chosen by the user ofthe apparatus.

In the method according to the first aspect, the set of UI modificationthemes may be user configurable.

In the method according to the first aspect, at least a number of saidUI components may be modified, wherein each of said number of UIcomponents may be modified in accordance to each respectively assignedaudio feature.

An advantage of this is that different user interface components may bemodified differently. For example, a first user interface component maybe modified according to base frequencies, and a second user interfacecomponent may be modified in accordance to treble frequencies.

In a second aspect, the disclosed embodiments are directed to a modulecomprising an audio feature extractor configured to receive a stream ofaudio data and to extract at least one feature of said stream of audiodata, and a user interface modifier configured to determine userinterface modification data based upon said extracted feature.

An advantage of this second aspect is that one or several of the userinterface components may be modified in accordance to the audio data.

The module according to the second aspect may further comprise an audiodetector configured to detect an audio activation signal and to activatesaid audio feature extractor or said user interface modifier upondetection.

An advantage of this is that the audio feature extractor and the userinterface modifier may be in a low power mode until audio data is beinggenerated. When, for example, audio data is being generated, an audioactivation signal may be transmitted to the audio feature extractor orthe UI modifier, and the power mode of the module may then be switchedto a high power mode, or, in other words, working mode. Hence, the powerefficiency of the module may be increased by having an audio detectorpresent.

The module according to the second aspect may further comprise a memoryarranged to hold user interface modification settings.

An advantage of having a memory arranged to hold user interface settingsis that no memory capacity of the apparatus is used for holding the userinterface settings. This implies that less changes of the apparatus, inwhich the module is comprised, are needed.

The module according to the second aspect may further comprise an audiofeature classifier configured to classify said at least one feature intoone of a set of predetermined feature representations.

An advantage of this is that the audio feature classifier can be ahardware module or a software module specialized in this kind ofclassification, which implies that less time and computational power areneeded.

The module according to the second aspect may further comprise a memoryarranged to hold predetermined feature representations.

In a third aspect, the disclosed embodiments are directed to anapparatus comprising a display configured to visualize a user interfacecomprising a number of user interface components, a music playerconfigured to generate audio data, a module configured to determine userinterface modification data, and a graphics engine configured to modifysaid user interface component in accordance to said determined userinterface modification data.

An advantage of this third aspect is that one or several of the userinterface components may be modified in accordance to the audio data.

In the apparatus according to the third aspect, an audio activationsignal may be transmitted from said music player to said module.

An advantage of this is that the module may be in a low power mode untilaudio data is being generated. When audio data is being generated andthe audio activation signal is transmitted to the module, the power modeof the module may then be switched to a high power mode, or, in otherwords, working mode. Hence, the power efficiency of the apparatus may beincreased by sending an audio signal to the module.

In the apparatus according to the third aspect, the apparatus may be amobile communication terminal.

In the apparatus according to the third aspect, the user interfacecomponents may be 3-D rendered objects.

An advantage of having 3-D rendered graphical objects is that a moresophisticated user interface may be utilised.

In the apparatus according to the third aspect, the audio visualizationeffects may be superposed onto said user interface components.

In a fourth aspect, the disclosed embodiments are directed to acomputer-readable medium having computer-executable componentscomprising instructions for receiving audio data, extracting at leastone audio feature from said audio data, and modifying the appearance ofat least one of said number of user interface components in accordanceto said extracted audio feature.

In the computer-readable medium according to the fourth aspect, thereception, the extraction and the modification may be repeated.

In the computer-readable medium according to the fourth aspect, the userinterface components may be 3-D rendered graphical objects.

In the computer-readable medium according to the fourth aspect, themodification may comprise classifying said found audio feature into apredetermined feature representation, and modifying the appearance of atleast one of said number of user interface components in accordance tosaid predetermined feature representation.

Other features and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will appearfrom the following detailed disclosure, from the attached dependentclaims as well as from the drawings.

Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted accordingto their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitlydefined otherwise herein. All references to “a/an/the [element, device,component, means, step, etc.]” are to be interpreted openly as referringto at least one instance of said element, device, component, means,step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methoddisclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact orderdisclosed, unless explicitly stated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of thedisclosed embodiments, will be better understood through the followingillustrative and non-limiting detailed description of the disclosedembodiments, with reference to the appended drawings, where the samereference numerals will be used for similar elements, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for modifying a userinterface component in accordance to audio data.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a module according to the disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an apparatus according to the disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a user interface with user interfacecomponents being modified in accordance to audio data.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method according to the disclosedembodiments describing the general steps of modifying a user interfacecomponent in accordance to audio data.

In a first step, 100, audio data is received. The audio data may be acurrent part of a stored audio file being played by a music player, or,alternatively, a current part of an audio stream received by an audiodata receiver.

Next, in a second step, 102, an audio feature is extracted from thereceived audio data. Such an audio feature may be a frequency spectrumof the audio data.

Finally, in a third step, 104, one or several user interface componentsare modified in accordance to the extracted audio feature.

The third step, 104, may be subdivided into a first substep, 106, inwhich the extracted audio feature is classified into a predeterminedfeature representation. Thereafter, in a second substep, 108, the userinterface component is modified in accordance to the predeterminedfeature representation.

By using predetermined feature representations, a number of userinterface component appearance state images may be used. This impliesthat less computational power is needed in order to modify the userinterface components in accordance to the audio data.

The user interface components can be 3-D rendered objects. Additionally,audio visualization effects can be superposed upon the 3-D renderedobjects. Then, when receiving audio data and extracting an audiofeature, the audio visualization effects are changed, which means thatthe appearance of the user interface components vary in accordance tothe audio data.

Alternatively, 2-D objects may be used as user interface components. Asin the case of 3-D rendered objects, audio visualization effects, whichvaries in accordance to the audio data, may be superposed upon the 2-Dobjects.

Alternatively, instead of having superposed audio visualization effects,the size of one or several user interface components may be modified inaccordance to the extracted audio features. For instance, the userinterface components may be configured to change size in accordance tothe amount of base frequencies in the audio data. In this way, during adrum solo the size of the user interface component will be large, andduring a guitar solo the size will be small. Other options are that thecolour, the orientation, the shape, the animation speed or otheranimation-specific attributes, such as zooming level in fractalanimation, of the user interface components change in accordance to theaudio data.

If so-called environment mapping is utilised, existing solutions formusic visualization may be used. This is an advantage since no newalgorithms must be developed. Another advantage of using so-calledenvironment mapping is that a dynamically changing environment mapemphasizes the shape of a 3-D object, making UI components easier torecognize.

Optionally, different user interface components may be associated todifferent frequencies. For instance, when playing a rock song comprisingseveral different frequencies, a first user interface component, such asa “messages” icon, may change in accordance to high frequencies, i.e.treble frequencies, and a second user interface component, such as“contacts” icon, may change in accordance to low frequencies, i.e. basefrequencies.

The procedure of receiving audio data, 100, extracting audio feature,102, and modifying a UI component in accordance to the extracted audiofeature, 104, may be repeated continuously as long as audio data isreceived. The procedure may, for instance, be repeated once every timethe display is updated.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a module 200. The module 200 may be asoftware implemented module or a hardware implemented module, such as anASIC, or a combination thereof, such as an FPGA circuit.

Audio data can be input to an audio feature extractor 202. Thereafter,one or several audio features can be extracted from the audio data, andthen the extracted features can be transmitted to a user interface (UI)modifier 204. UI modification data can be generated in the UI modifier204 based upon the extracted audio feature(s). After having generated UImodification data, this data can be output from the module 200.

The UI modification data may be data representing the extracted audiofeature(s). Then, a graphics engine (not shown) is configured to receivethe UI modification data, and based upon this UI modification data andoriginal graphics data, the graphic engine is configured to determinegraphics data comprising audio visualization effects.

Alternatively, the UI modification data may be complete graphics datacontaining audio visualization effects. In other words, the graphicsengine may be contained within said module 200.

Optionally, the module may further comprise an audio feature classifier206. The function of the audio feature classifier 206 can be to findcharacteristic features of the audio signal. Such a characteristicfeature may be the amount of audio data corresponding to a certainfrequency, such as a base frequency or a treble frequency.Alternatively, if different UI components are corresponding to differentcharacteristic features, a number of characteristic features may bedetermined in the audio feature classifier 206.

If an audio feature classifier 206 is present, a memory 208 comprising anumber of predetermined feature representations may be present as well.A predetermined feature representation may, for instance, be the amountof audio data corresponding to a sound between 20 Hz and 100 Hz. Thenumber of predetermined feature representations, i.e. the resolution ofthe classification, may be user configurable, as well as the limits ofeach of the predetermined feature representations.

Optionally, the module 200 may comprise an audio detector 209 configuredto receive an audio activation signal. The audio activation signal maybe transmitted from the music player when the playing of a song isstarted, or, alternatively, when the radio is switched on. When theaudio detection signal is received, an audio activation signal istransmitted to the audio feature extractor 202, the UI modifier 204 orthe audio feature classifier 206.

Optionally, the module 200 may further comprise a memory 210 containingUI modification themes. A UI modification theme may comprise informationof how the extracted audio feature(s) is to be presented in the UI. Forinstance, the extracted audio feature(s) may be presented as a histogramsuperposed on a 3-D rendered UI component, or the extracted audiofeature(s) may be presented as a number of circles superposed on a 3-Drendered UI component.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an apparatus 300, such as a mobilecommunication terminal, comprising the module 200, a music player 302, agraphics engine 304, a display 306, optionally a keypad 308 andoptionally an audio output 310, such as a loudspeaker or a head phoneoutput.

When a song is started in the music player 302, which start may be madeafter having received key input actuation data from the keypad 308,audio data and, optionally, an audio activation signal, are transmittedfrom the music player 302 to the module 200. Optionally, audio data mayalso be transmitted to the audio output 310.

The module 200 is configured to generate UI modification data fromextracted audio features of the audio data as is described above. The UImodification data generated by the module 200 can be transmitted to thegraphics engine 304. The graphics engine 304 can, in turn, be configuredto generate graphics data presenting the extracted features of the audiodata by using the U I modification data.

After having determined the graphics data, this data may be transmittedto the display 306, where it is shown to the user of the apparatus 300.Alternatively, if the graphics engine 304 is comprised within the module200, graphics data is transmitted directly from the module 200 to thedisplay 306.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a user interface 400 with userinterface components being modified in accordance to audio data.

A first user interface component may be illustrated as a “music” iconcomprising a 3-D cuboid 402. Audio visualization effects in the form ofa frequency diagram 404 can be superposed on the sides of the 3-D cuboid402. Moreover, an identifying text “MUSIC” 406 may be available inconnection to the 3-D cuboid 402.

A second user interface component illustrates a “messages” iconcomprising a 3-D cylinder 408. Audio visualization effects in the formof a number of rings 410 a, 410 b, 410 c may be superposed on the top ofthe 3-D cylinder 408. Moreover, an identifying text “MESSAGES” 412 maybe available in connection to the 3-D cylinder 408.

A third user interface component illustrates a “contacts” iconcomprising a 3-D cylinder 414. Audio visualization effects in the formof a 2-D frequency representation 416 may be superposed on the top ofthe 3-D cylinder 414. Moreover, an identifying text “CONTACTS” 418 maybe available in connection to the 3-D cylinder 414.

A fourth user interface component illustrates an “Internet” iconcomprising a 3-D cuboid 420. Audio visualization effects in the form ofa number of stripes 422 a, 422 b, 422 c may be superposed on the sidesof the 3-D cuboid 420. Moreover, an identifying text “Internet” 424 maybe available in connection to the 3-D cuboid 420.

The disclosed embodiments have mainly been described above withreference to a few embodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by aperson skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosedabove are equally possible within the scope of the disclosedembodiments, as defined by the appended patent claims.

1. A method for providing a user interface of a communication apparatus,said method comprising switching from a low power mode to a working modeupon receiving a stream of audio data; and upon switching from the lowpower mode to the working mode: extracting at least one audio featurefrom said stream of audio data, and modifying the appearance of at leastone user interface component configured for invoking a function of thecommunication apparatus, in accordance with said extracted audiofeature.